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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
HOUSTON (AP) -- The Vancouver Grizzlies kept Steve Francis from
scoring, but they couldn't stop the rest of the Houston Rockets.
Francis had 13 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his second
career triple-double as Houston beat Vancouver Grizzlies 106-89
Friday night.
Francis only took 11 shots, as the Rockets got contributions
from many other sources. Cuttino Mobley scored 23 points and had 10
rebounds and Hakeem Olajuwon, in his first start since Dec. 30, had
17 points for the Rockets.
Moochie Norris had 13 points, Maurice Taylor added 12 and Walt
Williams 11 as Houston snapped a three-game losing streak.
"I wanted to shoot more," Francis said. "But it just wasn't
there. And our guys were all open. I knew they were double-teaming
me and that left everybody else open."
Francis' other triple-double came against Golden State on Jan.
27, 2000, almost exactly one year ago.
"I thought he played under control tonight," Vancouver coach
Sidney Lowe said. "Our game plan was to not let him get off. And
he didn't force the issue. He made the right plays and ran the
floor well. I give him a lot of credit for being patient tonight."
Michael Dickerson scored 25 and Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 17 for
the Grizzlies, who have lost seven straight overall and 12
consecutive on the road. Mike Bibby added 14 and Damon Jones had
10.
"It's times like these that shows what you're made of,"
Abdur-Rahim said. "We can either lay down or we can fight like
men. We've put ourselves in this position."
The Rockets used a pair of 12-2 runs in the second quarter to
take a 59-49 lead at halftime.
With Olajuwon scoring four quick points, Houston outscored
Vancouver 8-2 the first two minutes of the third to open a 67-51
lead. The lead grew to 26 with 47 seconds left in the quarter. The
Grizzlies never got closer than 14 the rest of the game.
"It's disappointing when you have guys 6-9 and 6-10 and (6-1)
Moochie Norris gets the offensive rebound on a missed free throw,"
Lowe said. "On some plays, we didn't even leave the floor. If the
guys are tired, I wish they would tell me because it's inexcusable
to do that."
Francis, who had to leave for more than four minutes of the
second quarter to get a sore ankle retaped, completed the
triple-double with 6:57 left in the game. He went to the locker
room for good with 5:55 to play.
"He's having a great year," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich
said. "He does so much in so many categories. And he's not only
good, he's fun to watch. He read the defenses early and really took
command."
Game notes
Olajuwon came off the injured list Wednesday but didn't
start against Philadelphia. ... Francis is the first player in the
NBA to get 250 rebounds and 250 assists this season. ... The
combined 70 points by which the Grizzlies lost their previous two
games (37 points to Dallas on Thursday and 33 to San Antonio
Tuesday) were the highest two-game margin of defeat in franchise
history. The previous record came in January 1997 when they lost to
Detroit and Utah by 62.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Vancouver Clubhouse
Houston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 105
Detroit 89
Washington 106
Atlanta 99
Boston 99
Phoenix 83
Houston 106
Vancouver 89
Seattle 107
Golden State 105
LA Lakers 113
New Jersey 101
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Rudy Tomjanovich Official Site
Mike Bibby Official Site
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